Pack with recessed handle



June 1966 J. MARCOULY ETAL 3,255,950

PACK WITH RECESSED HANDLE 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 15 1964 J1me 1966 J. MARCOULY ETAL 3,255,950

PACK WITH RECESSED HANDLE Filed Sept. 15 1964 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 United States Patent 3,255,950 PACK WITH RECESSED HANDLE Jacques Marcouly, Paris, and Jean Savelshergh, La Celle St. Cloud, France, assignors to Lever Brothers Company, New York, N.Y., a corporation of Maine Filed Sept. 15, 1964, Ser. No. 396,511 3 Claims. (Cl. 229-52) It has already been proposed in U.S. application Serial No. 316,387, now Pat. No. 3,194,480, to provide a collapsible stackable pack with a recessed handle, in which the handle is formed by the interaction of two extension parts integral with two opposing parallel side walls of the pack. The handle is held in its recessed position, during carriage of a filled pack, by interlocking flaps formed by folding and turning down extension parts on each of the upper portions of the other two end walls of the pack. Whilst these packs are satisfactory in transportation, it has been found in many cases that stacking is not altogether ideal and that the side walls integral with the parts that form the recessed handle are often crushed when packs of this type are stacked.

The subject of the present application is a stackable collapsible pack with recessed handle of the above-mentioned class, but in which the folded extension parts which form the said recessed handle are longer than the side walls with which they are integral, and in which the other two end walls of the pack are formed with openings or slots which are slightly higher than the said handle so that they extend into the foldable extension par-ts that form the said interlocking flaps which hold the handle in its recessed position. In this way the lower parts of said opening or slots in the end walls each forms an abutment for the ends of the handle, whereas the foldable extension parts form the flaps which interlock with the handle to prevent the handle rising when the pack is moved. The extension of the openings or slots into the foldable ex tensions forming the interlocking fiaps allows the handle to be placed in its recessed position.

Another advantage of the new pack accruing from the provision of the abutment to limit the descent of the handle lies in the provision at the upper part of the pack of two horizontal portions of the extension parts of the end walls which are substantially level with the said handle, so as to form a fairly thick rim. These, in combination with similar rims obtained in the folding of the handleforming parts form a firm support surface right around the pack for stacking purposes.

A further improvement in the new pack relates to the method by which the interlocking flaps are engaged. These flaps are provided with resilient projections which interact with slots in the pack by force and form an inter locking arrangement. The projections are folded back and are introduced into the pack through slightly wider holes, so that once they have gone past the level of the said holes the flaps unfold so that they. no longer align with these holes, and thus retain the corresponding interlocking flap in place. I

The characteristics and advantages of the present addition will be more clearly understood on reading the following description of an embodiment of the new stackable pack with recessed handle, this embodiment being given as a non-restrictive example and described with reference to the attached drawing in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the said pack before its recessed handle is placed in position;

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view of the same pack after the said handle has been placed in position but prior to folding over of the interlocking flaps which hold the recessed handle in place;

FIGURE 3 is a section of the upper part of the pack along line III-III of FIGURE 2;

ice

FIGURE 4 is a partial blank from which the collapsible pack is made showing the characterising features;

FIGURE 5 is a perspective view showing theslot in the end wall continued into the end wall extension flap, and the elongated handle which interacts with the slot;

FIGURE 6 is a perspective view of a detail in FIGURE 5 bearing the reference number VI;

FIGURE 7 is a section along line VIIVII in FIGURE 5; and

FIGURE 8 is a plan view of the upper part of the closed pack.

Referring to the figures, the pack has two longitudinal side walls 1 and two end walls 2. Extensions to the lower parts of each side wall 1 in conjunction with similar extensions to the lower part of the end. walls 2 (not shown) form the base of the pack in the usual way. The two opposing side walls 1 have extension. parts integral therewith which are multi-folded to provide supporting surfaces 3, a top, and a handle 5. The material between the first two parallel folds made in these extension parts which are integral with side Walls 1, forms two supporting rims 3 which are horizontal when the handle 5 is in the final recessed position illustrated in FIGURES 2 and 3.

Between the second and third parallel fold in each extension part is a panel 4 which slopes toward the interior of the pack'after the handle 5 is placed in its recessed position. The handle 5 is formed by folding together as pairs those terminal areas of the extension parts remaining from the foregoing folding, and juxtaposing each pair as at 5a and 5b. Each pair 5a and St: has hinged tabs 6 and 7 respectively, cut out in such a way that the two tabs 6 and 7 can pass through the cut-outs, as is shown particularly clearly in FIGURE 3.

To ensure the firmness in stacking of the filled packs, the two horizontal rims 3 are supplemented by end wall extension parts 8 which are folded over the filled pack in such a way as to provide more extensive stacking surfaces. Each end wall extension part 8 has a slot 9b which is a continuation of slots 9 which depend from a point midway along the top of each end wall 2. The bottom 9a of each of these slots forms an abutment which checks the descent of the handle 5 when it is placed in its recessed position.

The end wall extension parts 8 each terminate in two parts 10 which interact with the four slots 11 in the top of the pack when the parts 8 are inwardly folded. Parts 10 have side projections 12 which are folded back so that when parts 10 engage with slots 11 the projections 12 tend to unfold and so prevent the parts: 10 returning through the slots. This action is clearly shown in FIG- URES 7 and 8 where the unfolded position of projections 12 is indicated at 12a. The parts 10 are separated from each other by slots 13 within which the handle 5 is held when the filled pack is closed by the folding thereover of the end wall extensions 8. This is shown clearly in FIG- URES '5 and 8.

The handle 5 is of length such that its ends extend beyond the end walls 2, and the amount by which the ends extend may equalthe distance between the upper edge 9b of the slots 9 and the fold 14.

It is clearly understood that the embodiment which has just been described may undergo various changes, im-

provements or addition and certain components may be replaced by equivalent ones without thereby altering the general arrangement of the invention.

We claim:

1. A carton having a bottom, two side walls and two end walls, an extension part integral with each carton wall, each side wall extension part being foldable about longitudinal hinge lines to form a carton top having a downwardly and inwardly inclined panel, and terminal areas of said extension parts each being of greater length than the carton side walls, said terminal areas being folded about longitudinal fold lines so as jointly to form a vertically disposed handle which is recessed to have its upper edge in the plane of the upper edges of the carton walls, each end wall extension part being foldable about a hinge line at the upper edge of the end wall to overlie and retain said handle and each end wall having a slot depending from said last-mentioned hinge line to accommodate the ends of said handle, said slots extending into the end wall extension parts to allow the handle to be placed in its recessed position.

2. A carton having a bottom, two side Walls and two end walls, an extension part integral with each carton wall, each side wall extension part being foldable about longitudinal hinge lines to form a carton top having a downwardly and inwardly inclined panel extending from a horizontal supporting rim portion, and terminal areas of said extension parts each being of greater length than the carton side walls, said terminal areas being folded about longitudinal fold lines so as jointly to form a vertically disposed handlewhich is recessed to have its upper edge in the plane of the upper edges of the carton Walls, each end wall extension part being foldable about a hinge line at the upper edge of the end wall to overlie and retain said handle against upward movement, said end wall 25 extension having parts which interact with slots in the carton top to hold said extension in down-folded handleretaining position, and each end wall having a slot depending from said last-mentioned hinge line to accommodate the ends of said handle, said slots extending into the end wall extension parts to allow the handle to be placed in its recessed position.

3. A carton according to claim 2, in which the end wall extension parts each have two parts, separated by a central slot which accepts the handle when said extension part is clown-folded, forming the parts which interact with slots in the carton top, said parts having side projections which are folded back to pass through the slots and then unfold to prevent removal of said parts from the slots.

References Cited by the Examiner GEORGE O. RALSTON, Primary Examiner. 

1. A CARTON HAVING A BOTTOM, TWO SIDE WALLS AND TWO END WALLS, AN EXTENSION PART INTEGRAL WITH EACH CARTON WALL, EACH SIDE WALL EXTENSION PART BEING FOLDABLE ABOUT LONGITUDINAL HINGE LINES TO FORM A CARTON TOP HAVING A DOWNWARDLY AND INWARDLY INCLINED PARNEL, AND TERMINAL AREAS OF SAID EXTENSION PARTS EACH BEING OF GREATER LENGTH THAN THE CARTON SIDE WALLS, SAID TERMINAL AREAS BEING FOLDED ABOUT LONGITUDINAL FOLD LINES SO AS JOINTLY TO FORM A VERTICALLY DISPOSED HANDLE WHICH IS RECESSED TO HAVE ITS UPPER EDGE IN THE PLANE OF THE UPPER EDGES OF THE CARTON WALLS, EACH END WALL EXTENSION PART BEING FOLDABLE ABOUT A HINGE LINE AT THE UPPER EDGE OF THE END WALL TO OVERLIE AND RETAIN SAID HANDLE AND EACH END WALL HAVING A SLOT DEPENDING FROM SAID LAST-MENTIONED HINGE LINE TO ACCOMMODATE THE ENDS OF SAID HANDLE, SAID SLOTS EXTENDING INTO THE END WALL EXTENSION PARTS TO ALLOW THE HANDLE TO BE PLACED IN ITS RECESSES POSITION. 